Quarterly Essay: Bad News – Murdoch’s ‘Australian’ and the Shaping of the Nation

This year has seen unprecedented scrutiny of Rupert Murdoch’s empire in Britain. There’s even been talk of the end of the empire. Some of that has spilled over as far as our shores – where it all began for the Murdochs. In Australia, News Limited market dominance is impressive: by its own admission, News Limited controls 70 per cent of Australia’s newspaper readership market. The empire’s flagship publication is The Australian, our only national masthead and – though a perennial loss-maker – a key weapon in News Limited’s arsenal of influence. In ‘Bad News’, Robert Manne, one of Australia’s leading essayists, investigates how The Australian shapes debate in this country.